Houston Public Media
162 episodes listed below
Houston talks through the day’s stakes.
Hello Houston treats the city as a shared table, moving from weather banter and YouTube chatter into the practical stakes of Houston stories. Its rotating voices bring in callers, guests, and community angles on culture, health, taxes, transit, and public life.
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Hello Houston is a weekday forum for Houston stories that still believes conversation is part of the news. The show has a loose, human opening rhythm. A host may talk about the weather, a lingering cold, Eurovision, an Astros aside, or the odd feeling of being back on air. Then the topic turns. Maternal mental health becomes a practical discussion about culture, telehealth, sleep, first-time parents, and when support should arrive. A theater segment becomes a celebration of Houston students, the Tommy Tune Awards, the Jimmy Awards, and the local talent pipeline. An arts residency becomes a deeper conversation about Freedmen’s Town, Ring Shout traditions, Shout, Our Road Home, and Black performance as a way to think about freedom. Food and career stories can sit beside property taxes. Transit planning can be tied to the World Cup and to what remains useful after the final match. The show’s strength is its sense of proximity. Houston is not treated as an abstraction. It is parents trying to function, artists carrying history, students finding a stage, viewers typing from YouTube, and callers testing ideas in public. The rotating voices keep the texture changing, with Ernie Manouse, Celeste Diaz-Sherman, Brandi Smith, Lisa Gray, Foti, Doug Miller, and Doris Childress appearing across the sampled episodes. The pace is brisk. The manners are neighborly. Serious topics are allowed to stay serious, but the show does not sand away local humor, small irritations, or personal memory. Hello Houston is best understood as civic radio with a porch-light sensibility: open to the city, attentive to consequence, and comfortable letting a public issue pass through real people’s lives before deciding what matters.
Made for: For Houstonians who want local news, arts, public life, and community concerns in a conversational format with room for callers and guests. It especially suits listeners who like civic issues explained through everyday consequences.
What sets it apart: Hello Houston stands apart by blending public-radio news instincts with an open-forum rhythm, where texts, calls, YouTube viewers, and rotating voices shape the discussion. It keeps Houston’s practical questions close to culture, memory, weather, sports, parenting, and local history.
Hello Houston is your connection to the heart of the Bayou City. Every weekday, we dive deep into the stories that matter to Houstonians — from breaking local news to cultural happenings, community voices, and the everyday joys and challenges of life in our vibrant city.
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Hello Houston makes local news tangible through practical interviews, civic questions, and sustained attention to the institutions shaping life across the city.
Hello Houston turns a weekday call-in program into a wide-ranging civic conversation, with Ernie Manouse and rotating guest hosts moving between public-interest questions and Houston's cultural life.
Houston theater awards and Freedmen's Town share a microphone; your local curiosity gets room to roam.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A calm postpartum conversation about practical support, cultural beliefs, and when to reach out.
Hello Houston starts with weather talk and Mother's Day weekend optimism before settling into a postpartum conversation with Dr. Angel Glover, centered on the weeks after childbirth.
Houston theater awards are framed as a real pipeline, not just pageantry.
Hello Houston spends its hour on Houston theater awards, with Ernie Manouse and Brandi Smith weighing why recognition matters for young performers and why the city treats stage work with real seriousness.
A Houston arts conversation centered on Freedmen's Town, Shout, and the history behind both.
Hello Houston frames Fresh Arts' 2026 Space Taking Artist Residency as a grounded look at Houston's arts scene, with Ernie Manouse and guest host Brandi Smith welcoming Jakari Sherman and focusing on Shout and Our Road Home.
A Houston call-in hour that turns local work, weather, and civic talk into one easy conversation.
Hello Houston keeps an easy rapport between the host and Lisa Gray, the Houston Chronicle op-ed editor filling in for the day, and uses that comfort to move from kitchen work to how she came to stay in Houston.
A light studio opening leads into a practical case for bringing Houston kids into live symphony music.
Hello Houston begins in a loose, friendly register as Ernie Manouse and Foti Kalurgis trade jokes while Celeste Diaz-Sherman is away, then moves into a measured conversation with the Houston Symphony about the value of live music.
Fargo morning-drive radio with Bo and Megan, NDSU Bison football previews, and listener call-in games.
Hello Houston opens on a dreary day, with Ernie Manouse and guest host Doris Childress exchanging a few words about weather, Mother's Day weekend, and the usual invite to call or email.
Hello Houston opens with a little on-air looseness.
Ernie Manouse opens Hello Houston with Brandi Smith beside him.
Hello Houston opens with the host welcoming Lisa Gray, the Houston Chronicle op-ed editor, to sit in for the day.
This episode of Hello Houston features hosts Ernie Manouse and Celeste Diaz-Sherman discussing Ernie's recent Media Alliance Houston Star Award win and his 30-year career at Houston Public Media.
This episode of Hello Houston is a local news discussion show hosted by Celeste Diaz-Sherman with guest Foti, covering topics like Houston's transit improvements for the World Cup and insights from Foti's TV journalism career.
This episode of Hello Houston is a local talk show discussing Houston community topics, including the return of the Spindletop Restaurant and sports commentary, hosted by Celeste Diaz-Sherman and guest Doug Miller.
The hosts discuss the announcement that Eurovision will stream live on YouTube, highlighting its global accessibility and community impact.
The hosts discuss Girls on the Run in Greater Houston, a community organization that the host's daughter participates in, and share personal experiences from emceeing their fundraising event.
The hour opens with Ernie Manouse and Foti Kalurgis filling in after Celeste Diaz-Sherman takes the day off.
The hosts discuss post-Easter shopping traditions, focusing on buying discounted candy and holiday decor for the next year, with tips on preserving chocolate.
The hosts discuss Frank Billingsley's experience riding on the Jubilee float in the Bumbas Parade, including getting their faces painted and attending an after party.
The hosts of Hello Houston discuss the show's setup, their roles, and the current weather in Houston, hinting at an upcoming Saturday issue.
The hosts of Hello Houston engage in casual morning conversation about local life, birthdays, and Valentine's Day, setting a friendly tone for the open forum show.